2 days Ago By James Ling
Sng (left) cuts the ribbon to officially open the new three-storey classroom block. KAPIT (Jan 3): The new three-storey classroom block of SJKC Hock Lam here has been officially opened by the school’s Board of Management chairman Datuk Larry Sng Wei Shien yesterday. During the opening ceremony, the Julau MP recalled that SJKC Hock Lam was established by the Kapit Chinese community more than seven decades ago and with the support of the Chinese community it had been able to overcome hardships and challenges.
The new three-storey concrete block is to overcome the shortage of classrooms, he added. “We pay tribute to our elders who were committed to building this school to educate the young, to preserve and uphold our culture, customs and tradition, and religious practices. “The Chinese community wherever they settled, they built schools, temples or churches because these were the symbol of the community’s presence.
“They sacrificed, contributed money, material and labour to build schools because they wanted their children to be literate and knowledgeable, knowing that knowledge is the stepping stone to a better and brighter future,” Sng said during the ceremony, witnessed by members of the Board of Management, Parent-Teacher Association, teachers and pupils. He also explained that members of the school’s Board of Management were nominated by various Chinese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in town such as Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Kapit Foochow Association, Kapit Chiang Chuan Association, Kapit Kwang Tung Association and various other Chinese NGOs, who backed up the school by contributing money, donating furniture and teaching aid. He also thanked the government for the ‘matching grant’ to construct the new three-storey classroom block, and announced a government grant of RM10,000 for the school’s Board of Management.
On July 4, 2011, the double-storey wooden classroom block was declared unsafe by the Public Works Department due to termite infestation, requiring it to be demolished and replaced with a concrete building..
